Second accused MS Mathew to turn approver in Koodathayi murder case?

Kozhikode: The police have reportedly decided to turn second accused in the sensational Koodathayi serial killings, M S Mathew, as an approver in the case.

Ahead of this, the police have sought permission from the court to record his confidential statement before the magistrate.

As per the Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, confidential statements of the witnesses are recorded before the magistrate so that these are not retracted during the trial phase. However, the confidential statements of Mathew, an accused, are being recorded now with the intention of turning him to an approver.

Apart from the murder of Annamma Thomas, M S Mathew is the second accused in all the other five cases of the Koodathayi serial killings.

The police had found that prime accused Jolly Joseph had used cyanide to eliminate six members of her husband's family one after the other for a period of 14 years from 2002. Her first husband Roy Thomas too fell victim to her sinister plot. The police have registered separate cases on each of the murders.

Mathew had given statement to the police that he had procured cyanide for Jolly. He had twice bought cyanide from goldsmith K Prajikumar, the third accused in the case, and given these to Jolly. This cyanide was used to kill Tom Thomas, Roy Thomas, Mathew Manjadiyil, Sily Shaju and Alphine.

The police had found the cyanide, used for the crime, from Jolly's house at Koodathayi. If Mathew in his statement during the trial stage say that he had given the cyanide to Jolly, it would be easier for the police to prove the murders in court.

Finding circumstantial evidence has been a challenging task in this case. The cops concluded Mathew's statements could help prove the murder and therefore, decided to turn him into an approver.

District Crime Branch DySP Haridasan, who is probing the Roy Thomas murder case, has given an application at the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) court for recording the confidential statement. If Mathew's statements were found to be helpful in the case, he would be turned an approver. The probe team would then approach the court, seeking to consider Mathew, who is on the accused list, as a witness.

However, if he retracts his statements during the trial stage, the police would ask the court to consider Mathew as an accused again.